Adobe Contribute CS5 1603 error

I'm trying to package up Contribute CS5 to install across our network.
As per the other CS5 products I initially tried to use the XML deployment file method (as per http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/842/cpsid_84211.html#InstallSource), however there is no deployments folder on my Contribute CD, and I have been unable to locate a suitable install.xml template, even by doing a recorded install.

I have also tried using the tool here http://www.adobe.com/devnet/creativesuite/enterprisedeployment.html
This works an creates a custom msi which installs fine when I run it logged into Windows using both 'msiexec /i "\\server\share\contributecs5\build\contributecs4.msi" /quiet' when in Windows and during startup). However when I run is as an installer through a group policy or startup script it won't install (all the other CS5 products will install this way fine though, weird!).
The error that the msi installer generates is 'installation sucess or error status: 1603'.
I've checked through http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/408/kb408716.html but with no progress.

When running the MSI under an normal administrator account it installs fine. However when running it either as a startup script/policy install, or via a cmd prompt running as the 'SYSTEM' account the installation fails with the error code 1603.

I have tried emptying the temp files as advised in the Adobe KB article and also, Google Deskbar/Search is not installed.

It is odd that out of all the CS5 products I'm deploying in a similar manner, only Contribute is affected, and only when running as SYSTEM.

I have a copy of the MSI installer log available that I created when installing the package as SYSTEM. Maybe someone would be kind enough to pick out the error from it if I forwarded it on?

Answers

0

This procedure can be used when posting any Windows Installer log:

- Open the log in NotePad, or your favoured editor
- Search for the text 'Return value 3'
- In your reply, post the dozen or so lines above and below the line in which that text occurs. Be sure to use the CODE tag (use this when posting ANY lengthy text)

Sorry, I'm making a mess of it... Not one of my brightest moments...[&:]

After reading everything a second time, I believe it was there all along.

Error 1603 ReferenceGenerally this problem revolves around SYSTEM account permissions on the target system, free disk space on the target system, or bad file download or locked/inaccessable file. For more help...

The MSI located at \\campus\software\central\CentralLicensed\Adobe\ContributeCS5\ContributeCS5Build\Build\AdobeContributeCS5.msi is accessible by using the SYSTEM account. We use this path for many other applications and I can read the directory when using a SYSTEM cmd prompt when logged in.

If however the installer is trying to write into \\campus\software\central\.... then this would be a different matter. Is the installer needing write access into that directory, and if so then why?

Maybe I should just shut up before I point you further in the wrong direction... Like I said, REALLY not having my day.

What I don't get however, is this part:MSI (s) (5C:5C) [14:30:49:341]: PROPERTY CHANGE: Deleting UpdateStarted property. Its current value is '1'.
Action ended 14:30:49: INSTALL. Return value 3.

Because the first return value 3 is already InstallFinalize.... What is this INSTALL action? Where does it come from? As well as the UpdateStarted property, which is set to 1? Could it be that some old version is causing this?

What I don't get however, is this part:MSI (s) (5C:5C) [14:30:49:341]: PROPERTY CHANGE: Deleting UpdateStarted property. Its current value is '1'.
Action ended 14:30:49: INSTALL. Return value 3.

Because the first return value 3 is already InstallFinalize.... What is this INSTALL action? Where does it come from? As well as the UpdateStarted property, which is set to 1? Could it be that some old version is causing this?

To be clear in my head I've just performed the install from a CMD prompt running as SYSTEM, on a freshly built XP machine. This VM was fully patched yet had no previous versions of Contribute (or even any trace of Acrobat, Air etc. installed).
I still receive the two 'return value 3' entries though. Its baffling me...!

My guess is that the MSi is trying to perform some action which the System account is unable to execute. To my mind, this is further confirmed by the failure when run from a command prompt created by System. I'd further guess that it's connected with the user profile.Are there any HKCU settings, or files going to %UserProfile%?

My guess is that the MSi is trying to perform some action which the System account is unable to execute. To my mind, this is further confirmed by the failure when run from a command prompt created by System. I'd further guess that it's connected with the user profile.Are there any HKCU settings, or files going to %UserProfile%?

To try and circumvent the above scenario, and to test if it is the %userprofile% at fault. I reset the %userprofile% variable for the SYSTEM account to be 'C:\temp' instead before running the installer. Even after doing this the installer failed with the same errors listed above, both when running as a startup script and when running under a SYSTEM cmd prompt when logged on.
[:@]

have a look at the registry keys under HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell Folders
make sure all these point to somewhere in the default user's profile and not somewhere else.

This is a long shot, and i've not personally run into this issue with Adobe installers (this is an AutoCAD thing), but have a look, you never know

P.S. If you change these for an install to point to C:\Documents and Settings\.DEFAULT\ for example, you might wanna restore them afterwards.

have a look at the registry keys under HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell Folders
make sure all these point to somewhere in the default user's profile and not somewhere else.

This is a long shot, and i've not personally run into this issue with Adobe installers (this is an AutoCAD thing), but have a look, you never know

I'm willing to give anything a go at the moment...

Tried changing all the paths to a known accessible location by the SYSTEM account, but still no joy. Still logging the same error as above.

Like Rowan I get the impression we're missing something...
maybe your logs you posted are starting too late. Have a look for the string "an error occurred" (might be an assembly registration giving you grief).

Could you copy the source locally and then run it under SYSTEM account, just to give it a shot?

Just tried that, with no luck unfortunately.

Is there a CA in your package that calls an external DLL or installer? have a look for a CA called runDeploymentManagerCA in the sources and try to figure out what it does

I've searched through the sources and can't find reference to this anywhere, and Google only throws up this page as a result(!).
My hunch is that this could be relating to the 'Adobe Application Manager' which is used to package up the CS5 applications for deployment. Perhaps the runDeploymentManagerCA stage is setting the customisations such as applying the required serial number to the product install.

I've also re-downloaded the source from the Adobe Licensing website, and repackaged it on a clean build XP machine (previously it was packaged on a Win7 machine), but it's giving the same errors. Arghh! [:@]

It might also be that the setup.exe passes information to the MSI, which is now missing. Sadly there's little info on Contribute. I could find an SMS deployment guide however. Have you tried to run it by following these 2 steps?

Yep, I've tried to follow the Adobe help prior to using the Adobe Application Manager. The way we had done it previously with CS3, CS4 was to use the XML deployment method as described in the help.
However whilst the XML files required exist for Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Illustrator CS5, they sadly aren't present for Contribute CS5.

Interestingly though I've noted that Adobe's documentation for Contribute CS5 talks about 'AdobeContribute5' when in actual fact the version number should be 'AdobeContribute6'. Contribute 5 was the version with CS4.
I wonder if they haven't updated their documentation yet?

Thought i'd follow up on this as I've managed to utilise a workaround to install the application.

I've taken the deployment and uninstall XML files from our Adobe Web Premium CS5 media (this package includes Contribute). I then modified the XML files to remove reference to all other apps from Web Premium except Contribute. I also amended the 'driverAdobeCode' property name to reference Contribute directly.
These XML files were then copied into the share where we have the Contribute CS5 media located.

By running the command as a startup script (or in our case using SpecOps Deploy), and feeding the override and deployment file as we had done previously with CS4 the application was able to install without error. Same applies for the uninstall.

Hello Phil,I am installaing the Adobe Contribute CS5 silently as us suggested. The application gets installed properly. The only thing is that I tried all the possible ways to apply the Serial Number but in vain. I kept a override file, I also tried including the Srial Number in Install.xml file but nothing is working. Could you please tell me how you did this? Also if possible please provide the contents of override file.
Even if i can get the detail that where the Serial Number is stored on the system (file or registry path) that will also do.

Hello, I've read everything in this thread for Adobe Contribute CS5 and I'm having issues that may or may not be related. I've packaged Adobe CS5 Web Premium and Design Premium both with the Adobe Applications Manager successfully. But when trying to use the Adobe Application Manager with Adobe Contribute CS5, I don't seem to have success.

Let me start by saying I've ran a verbose log (/L*v) and checked the Adobe installer log it automatically creates in C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\Installer folder. In that log, I see an error at the end that says:

"WARNING: Payload {AC76D478-1033-0000-3478-000000000004} AdobeContribute6-PDistiller9-en_US is not installed so should not be there in the deployment file"

Right Above that, I can see where it rolled back the installation of all other components to this application. e.g.:

So I know it's installing these components, but I believe its having issues when it tires to install the Adobe Distiller and fails, so then it rolls back the rest of the installation and records this error. "WARNING: Payload {AC76D478-1033-0000-3478-000000000004} AdobeContribute6-PDistiller9-en_US is not installed so should not be there in the deployment file" But which deployment file?

Now, I've tried to look for the install and uninstall xml file that calls for the installation of these components, but I can't seem to find out which one it is. For example, I see a setup.xml file in the root of the payloads folder, but there only one GUID listed in it. Next, if I go to the individual source folders, I can see XML files that only runs the installation of itself. Does the setup.exe or MSI that's been created by the Adobe Applications Manager enumerate through the entire setup folder automatically?

I'd like to find out which setup or install xml file calls each software and software feature to install as it was for CS3 and CS4. I've looked but just don't see it. I'm guessing this could be done else where in the msi that is created with the Adobe Application Manager. So I opened it up and only noticed 4 custom actions.

-CADeploy
-CAUndeploy
-CAInstallmode
-CARemovemode

All of these call a DLL named "AdobeDeploymentManager", but no such DLL exist. Which is either being executed in the MSI or adobe bootstrapper EXE.

At this point, my goal is just to find the XML file and remove the Distiller component from the XML list that I believe it's failing at and causing this to rollback the installation with the 1603 error.

If I have to go route of worse case scenario, I'll just use the Adobe Web Premium package and remove everything in the Adobe Application Manager except for Adobe Contribute and go from there. I was just trying to keep the source file size down to a respectable size, but it seems like a lot of effort just to deliver one package.

But in a last ditch effort, I'm going to just remove the one folder from the "Distiller" folder from "Payloads" and see if that works because I'm assuming at this point it must just enumerate some how because I don't see a main deployment xml file.

Hey, if you can't seem to find the 'right' xml file, take a look in the binary table of the wrapper msi created with the app manager. It should contain another xml file that looks more like the ones you might know from cs3/cs4. It just has some disguised name (it was something with option, xml or both). Extract it from the binary table with orca or instedit.

I tried to do that and only found source listed only in the "Properties" table. I've checked the "Binary" table and no luck there.

I tried to do what PhilHarle did and had no luck. I went back to the Adobe Web Premium package that I had success with and noticed there was an additional folder in the root of the Adobe source called "deploy". In that folder I found the Install.xml files and edited them just as PhilHarle said. I moved the folder over to the Contribute CS5 source folder after editing those files and still had no luck. I'm guessing maybe PhilHarle did something additionally that he might not have listed.

I found on Adobe's site that there is an addtional log crated in the C:\Documents and Settings\(UserProfile)\Local Settings\Temp folder called PDApp.log. In that log, according to Adobe, you should do a quick search for keywords "FATAL" and "ERROR". What I found was "[FATAL] DeploymentManager - The return code from the Adobe Installer Process is (6).Stopping the installation process."

What do ya know! It's the famous Adobe Exit Code (6) which really could mean anything. :)

At this point, I plan to use the Adobe CS5 Web Premium Source since it seems to work and use the Adobe Application Manager and uncheck all the other software pieces and only install Contribute CS5. Then hopefully I can delete out the source files that are not used to save space or until Adobe updates my trouble ticket I submitted yesterday.

If anyone else figures out a way to install this package silently, please add this to the post.